Kroger (NYSE:KR) Trading Up 5.9% After Earnings Beat

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) rose 5.9% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $54.69 and last traded at $54.54. Approximately 2,876,817 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 4,963,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.50.

The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.09 billion. Kroger had a return on equity of 29.89% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share.

Kroger Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. This is an increase from Kroger’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Kroger to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Kroger from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Kroger from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kroger

In other news, VP Brian W. Nichols sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.53, for a total transaction of $109,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,975.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kroger

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Kroger by 53.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 9,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Kroger by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,380,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,115,000 after buying an additional 261,368 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Kroger by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,882,000 after acquiring an additional 129,873 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in Kroger by 82.2% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 132,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 59,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in Kroger in the fourth quarter valued at $671,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Kroger Company Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.